Memories From The Edge

Memories From The Edge

By Ebony Fire

It was mid-December. The snow was coming down lightly, just enough to give everything a gentle blue sheen. People walked around the village slowly, savoring the beauty of the season.

A tall, slender man with prematurely graying golden-brown hair that was sprinkled with flurries walked quickly through the snow with his head down. His thin, somewhat handsome face was lined with worry and sadness.

"'Lo, Mr. Lupin," the bartender greeted him at the Wicked Witch. "Haven't seen you in a while, sir," he added, handing Remus a butterbeer. Carefully, Remus carried the foaming drink to a table in a corner to the left of the door. A few candles hung in the air above it, adding to the medieval look of the bar. The table he sat at was imitation ebony, pure unscarred wood... except in one place. On the top left, there was a tiny M-shaped mark. It was something you never would have seen, unless you knew where to look. Remus Lupin knew where to look.

Remus passed his fingers over the mark gently, and watched the familiar words materialize in spidery lines.

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Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs

Long Live the Marauders

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The words were carved messily into the table by someone with apparently bad handwriting. "Hah, I remembered when you carved that, Sirius," Remus said to his memory. "The knife slipped and you slashed your hand. Then you got it to bleed harder and smeared blood all over your face. Staggered all around Hogsmeade, 'dying'."

"I remember too," Padfoot laughed. "I scared the hell out of Paula Skeeter. She avoided me for weeks. Probably thought I was gonna drop dead at any moment, didn't she?" "Yeah, then her sister spread rumors around the school that we were all vampires and Sirius had just come back from a feeding," Prongs glared. "And we got detention for a week. We didn't practice, and lost the game against Ravenclaw." "I thought we lost because Remus fell off his broom," Wormtail said quietly. "Yeah, that too," Prongs said, embarrassed. "Couldn't use that hand for a week," Padfoot said tragically.

"And to top that week off, we didn't show up for the last day of detention," Remus smiled. "Old Barker ran around Hogwarts like crazy that night. 'Potter-Black-Lupin-Pettigrew!'" Prongs mimicked in the caretaker's loud, nails-on-chalkboard voice. "'Git yer bleedin' be'inds in me office, NOW!'" "Well, Potter, Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew weren't there that night, were they?" he continued. "Nope," Padfoot said proudly. "Just Prongs, Padfoot, Moony, and Wormtail."

"Yes, the Marauders had some fun in their day, didn't we?" Remus sighed. "Do you remember one of our greatest achievements, mates? Discovering the Slytherin common room! That was Peter, wasn't it?" Wormtail swelled with pride. "I followed dear Snivellus all the way to that hole of theirs," he beamed. "And then Rem made that spell to figure out their password, and we were as good as in."

"We attacked the very next day, didn't we?" Remus said, slightly reproachfully. "We broke into Snape's own dormitory. "They must've been pretty shocked the next day, when all they could say was 'Hail almighty Gryffindor' and 'Praise the Marauders'," Prongs cackled.

"Hail almighty Gryffindor," Remus chuckled softly. "But of course, you remember that day, Sirius," he grinned, slipping into the old joke. "That was the day you met" --he sighed dreamily-- "Mina Falcon."

Padfoot's face softened. "Mina..." Prongs and Wormtail burst out laughing. "You're really serious about her, aren't you?" Prongs said, trying to keep a straight face again. Padfoot glared. "At least I didn't desecrate all the snitches in the school with her initials!" he countered. It was Prongs' turn to blush. Padfoot grinned. "Oh, Mina. Such grace, beauty, intelligence..." "If I remember correctly," Wormtail commented, "she slammed you into the wall with her bag." Prongs snorted into his butterbeer. "I think she was the toughest Ravenclaw I've ever met," Remus remarked. "And we thought they were all supposed to be quiet little bookworms! Ha! That girl was obviously sorted in the wrong house. A Gryffindor if I ever saw one." Padfoot smiled stupidly again. "I'm gonna marry her someday, I am."

Suddenly, Remus looked down sadly. Mina Falcon was murdered during the very last days of the First War. "You really loved her, didn't you?" he muttered into the butterbeer. A tear dissolved among the golden liquid. Padfoot raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to drown yourself in the butterbeer, Moony?" "Of course he is!" Prongs declared dramatically. "Our dearest friend is dying from the severe lack of Interesting Things!" Padfoot nodded sympathetically. "Well then, we must find a cure!" he yelled, and flipped over Prongs' chair. Prongs fell to the floor with a crash, stood up, and wasted no time in spilling his butterbeer on Padfoot. Padfoot threw his head back and roared with laughter so infectious that everybody couldn't help joining in.

Remus smiled weakly. "We were a force to be reckoned with, mates. Everyone wanted to be us." "Well, maybe not me," Wormtail snorted. "Oh, I don't know about that, Wormtail. I think a lot of people would have been quite happy to be that close to The Sirius Black," Padfoot preened, raking a hand through sticky charcoal hair. In less than a second, he was covered in Wormtail's butterbeer as well. Joining the game, Padfoot upended his own butterbeer on himself and began laughing once more.

Remus raised his head and let out a determined sigh. "It doesn't do to dwell on the past, does it? I can't undo what happened, and I still have a life and a purpose in it." Padfoot frowned. He twisted his long neck nearly 360 degrees to look up into Remus' face. "Still upset over that idiot girl, Rem? She didn't deserve you, really," he said sympathetically. "There will be others. That Nicolette girl you like really fancies you," he added hopefully.

Remus pulled some long whiskey-colored hair behind his ears and blinked. "You were everything, mates. You were more than the only true friends I ever had. You were family. You were the only ones that ever understood. I would have died for you, and you for me. I still would, if that could change anything. Our twelve years together was like a lifetime. I'm...so sorry." The Marauders looked at him, touched.

Remus whispered, "Who knew it would end like this?" His eyes were coated with glittering tears. "Long live the Marauders," he choked and swept out of the Wicked Witch, leaving behind four people, two dead, one whose death was sixteen years overdue, and one who might as well be dead.

"What was with the past tense? The Marauders aren't dead, and never will die. I think you're getting melodramatic in your old age," Padfoot finally concluded, wringing his butterbeer-laden hair on Moony's head. Moony threw a spoon at him. "So, what're your plans for this Saturday?" he asked, putting one foot on the chair and wrapping his arm around it in a very Moony gesture. "Well," said Padfoot, grinning wickedly, "I think Hogwarts hasn't seen nearly enough pink elephants..."

There's another world inside of me
That you may never see
There's secrets in this life
That I can't hide
Somewhere in this darkness
There's a light that I can't find
Maybe it's too far away...
Maybe I'm just blind...

Maybe I'm just blind...

So hold me when I'm here
Love me when I'm wrong
Hold me when I'm scared
And love me when I'm gone
Everything I am
And everything you need
I'll also be the one
You wanted me to be
I'll never let you down
Even if I could
I'd give up everything
If only for your good
So hold me when I'm here
Love me when I'm wrong
You can hold me when I'm scared
You won't always be there
So love me when I'm gone

Love me when I'm gone...

When your education x-ray
Can not see under my skin
I won't tell you a damn thing
That I could not tell my friends
Roaming through this darkness
I'm alive but I'm alone
Part of me is fighting this
But part of me is gone

So hold me when I'm here
Love me when I'm wrong
Hold me when I'm scared
And love me when I'm gone
Everything I am
And everything you need
I'll also be the one
You wanted me to be
I'll never let you down
Even if I could
I'd give up everything
If only for your good
So hold me when I'm here
Love me when I'm wrong
You can hold me when I'm scared
You won't always be there
So love me when I'm gone

Maybe I'm just blind...

So hold me when I'm here
Love me when I'm wrong
Hold me when I'm scared
And love me when I'm gone
Everything I am
And everything you need
I'll also be the one
You wanted me to be
I'll never let you down
Even if I could
I'd give up everything
If only for your good
So hold me when I'm here
Love me when I'm wrong
You can hold me when I'm scared
You won't always be there
So love me when I'm gone

Love me when I'm gone...